This paper develops a search-matching model, where producers provide effort to find customers (e.g. in form of advertising and marketing expenditures). Firms form long-term contractual relationships and bargain over prices. The price bargain results in mark up pricing above marginal cost. The...

This paper empirically analyses the link between market potential and regional wages in the enlarged EU. We extend previous studies of EU regions in several ways. 1) we analyze the link between market potential and wages for the EU27, 2) correct for spatial autocorrelation present in the data,...

This paper analyses the degree of price rigidity and of inflation persistence across different product categories with particular focus on regulated prices and services for the individual EU15 countries, as well as for the EU15 and the euro area aggregates. We show that services and those HICP...

Regional labour mobility is of increasing concern in the context of the Single European Monetary Policy, as EMU implies a reduction of national policy options. Thus, it is important that the remaining adjustment mechanisms function effectively. While most of the empirical literature focuses on...

The aim of this paper is to analyse the degree of inflation persistence in Luxembourg using disaggregate price index data from the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices. The degree of inflation persistence is then compared to estimates for the EU15 and for the euro area as well as for the...

This paper analyses price differences of McDonald?s products in four different countries. I show that pricing at pricing points in different currencies may contribute to explaining deviations from the law of one price. Observing strictly equal prices is more probable if prices are at...

This paper analyses the existence of an immigrant/native wealth gap by using household survey data for Luxembourg, Germany and Italy. The results show that, in all three countries, a sizeable wealth gap exists between natives and immigrants. Towards the upper tail of the wealth distribution the...

Using the first wave of the Eurosystem Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS), a large micro-level dataset on households? balance sheets in 15 euro area countries, this paper explores how households allocate their assets. We derive stylised facts on asset participation as well as levels...

This paper analyses empirically how cross-border consumption varies across product and services categories and across household characteristics. It focuses on the part of crossborder sales that arise due to work-related cross-border crossings; it analyses the crossborder consumption behaviour of...

Exceeding 40% of domestic employment cross-border commuters are extremely important to Luxembourg's economy and labour market in general. This paper presents unique information on their income, wealth and consumption using representative survey data from cross-border commuter households to...